Review of Revolution

For those of you who are looking for the next Secret Bonus Task...stay tuned! I will probably post it on Friday. In the meantime, here's a review of a really great book I read yesterday.

Revolution
by Jennifer Donnelly
Young Adult fiction
Due October 2010

Andi is tired of being herself. Two years ago her brother died, and since then her life and her family have been slowly falling apart. Even her music is starting to lose the power to make her forget. Finally her school sends a letter to her parents, informing them that she is in danger of failing her senior year of high school.

Andi's father decides that Andi should accompany him to Paris while he is there on business. When she gets there she comes across an old guitar case and discovers a series of secrets that lead her deep into the eighteenth century and the French Revolution.

I loved this book for a number of reasons. First, the French Revolution is fascinating and I think that Jennifer Donnelly does a good job of integrating facts into her narrative. We see the revolution through the eyes of a young actress, and that part of the story is clear and compelling. Meanwhile, Andi's story keeps us hooked because there is a magical mixture of angst, music, Paris, and a cute boy. Two cute boys if you count the composer that Andi is researching for her senior thesis.

I'm a total sucker for any novel that combines a historical tale with a modern-day mystery, or a historical mystery with a modern-day tale. This book reminded me a lot of The Devlin Diary by Christi Phillips, and I liked it just as much. Watch for it in October.